


Four Lives They Never Lived (and one they did)

by Birdbitch



Category: DCU
Genre: M/M, alternative universes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-14
Updated: 2012-05-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 11:32:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1777516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdbitch/pseuds/Birdbitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And in each one, they find each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Circus

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to Zina for giving me ideas to work with!

The Wayne family is responsible for bringing Haly’s Circus back into town after the Grayson tragedy years back, so it’s only fitting that the three of them attend. Bruce feels like a kid, almost, staring with awe at the feats of the lion tamer and dancing elephants. “You should have brought a girl, Bruce,” he hears his father say, but he’s more glad that he didn’t. It feels better this way for some reason, like it’s meant to be just him alone watching the show.

It’s when the Robin comes out that’s really impressed—almost in love, if he’s being honest, because this guy could be an Olympic gymnast if he weren’t such an acrobat. Bruce loses his breath when the boy—man?—nearly falls but catches himself at the last moment with his foot hooking onto one of the bars. He’s spectacular. Bruce has to meet him.

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s Bruce Wayne that people don’t question why he’s going to the performers’ tents, and he feels, for once, okay with that. “Can you show me to Robin’s tent?” The lion tamer shrugs at the question and points towards a trailer. There’s a stenciled name on the door—“Dick Grayson.” Oh. He supposes it makes sense, but he could have sworn all three of them died that day. 

He doesn’t bother knocking—it’s never been something he’s done, and it doesn’t occur to him that maybe he should. When he opens the door, it’s clear that Dick isn’t expecting anybody. He’s half stripped out of the Robin costume and he turns to Bruce completely caught off guard with wide eyes. “Um. Can I help you?” His fingers are already itching towards a throwing knife, and Bruce throws his hands up.

"I’m Bruce Wayne. I just wanted to. Talk." Dick’s defenses haven’t gone down completely, but he stands up and looks Bruce up and down. "You were amazing."

"Your family’s the ones who got us here, right?" 

"Yes." When he’s this close, Dick’s even more attractive than he was swinging in the air. "I’m sorry for scaring you. I should… I should go."

He turns to leave, but there’s a tug on his elbow sleeve that makes him turn back. “Please. Stay.” Dick lets go. “It’s not the best place, but if you want to talk, you can stay.” Bruce smiles in relief.

"You’re sure?" 

"Your family got the permits for us to be here. I should at least listen to you if you want to talk about something, right?" Oh. Bruce nods and takes a seat on a worn-in sofa, waiting while Dick finishes changing behind a screen. He comes out in a pair of sweatpants and a light tank top, water bottle in hand. "So, Mr. Wayne? Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

Bruce opens his mouth but finds himself speechless when Dick takes a sip from his water. “I uh. You were incredible. I.” He normally doesn’t do this, doesn’t know why he even came back here, but, there’s a way that Dick reaches forward and touches his forearm that keeps him in place. “How do you move like that?”

Dick gets a little grin on his face. “I can move in a lot of ways, Mr. Wayne.”

"Please, call me Bruce."

"Bruce." And it sounds right coming from Dick’s mouth. "Bruce…you know, I wasn’t sure I wanted to come back and do the show." He closes his eyes. "I mean. Since coming back, I’ve gotten a lot of death threats from the friends of the guy who killed my parents. I’m sorry I was hostile when you came in—I just thought that maybe I was next. Maybe it was my time."

"I could have them increase security. If you asked." Even if Dick didn’t ask, Bruce would do it now. 

"It’s fine." He shakes his head and smiles at Bruce. "You know, I’m happy I did the show."

"Yeah?"

He tilts his head a little bit. “Yeah. Because If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have met you.” He laughs a little. “You know, it’s strange, but even though I’ve just met you I feel like we’ve known each other for a life time.” Bruce can feel it too; he remembers the feelings of seeing Dick perform, like maybe he had seen it before, in a different light… “Are you coming to the show tomorrow?”

"Of course."


	2. Talon

He didn’t expect being pinned down by Batman to feel so good. But then again, he’s never actually been pinned down by anybody else before, and so maybe it always feels this good and he never knew that. He locks his legs around Batman’s waist and locks his ankles together for what might be better leverage or what could just be an attempt to get closer to the feel of grinding against Batman’s codpiece. Fighting always gives him feelings of arousal, but this?

This is too much. He’s without his mask now, and he figures he should give Batman the same treatment, so with nimble fingers far more often used to handle knives, he pulls back Batman’s cowl. He’s handsome, and for a second, he stops struggling. Batman won’t kill him, but he knows that if he doesn’t do his job, then somebody else will. Maybe he’s just tired of killing attractive men that he might have slept with had the Court decided on seduction as a main technique of assassination. He certainly would have preferred it that way. Maybe he’s just tired of the Court and the fact that they took him away from his family, and maybe he knows that Batman has it in his power to stop them, if only he had some help. 

"Please," he says, and it comes out so softly that only Batman can hear it. "I don’t want to do this anymore." He hopes to God that Batman listens.


	3. Prohibition

Bruce Wayne made his fortune in bootleg liquor and, rumor has it, his ward is his best rum runner and they’re fucking during all of those parties that they never show up to. 

Dick would laugh at the rumors if they weren’t true. 

Right now, Bruce has Dick on his hands and knees, canting back and forth with each thrust that the older man makes. Dick almost got caught, almost got arrested and it would have meant more than just going to jail; once he got home he leaped into Bruce’s arms and kissed him hard and greedily. He wasn’t ready to lose this, and he wasn’t going to, either. 

He cries out because it’s too much this time, and he can’t hold on for any longer before he comes and sinks down into Bruce’s bed. Well. Their bed. Bruce doesn’t stop until he’s spent, leaning down on Dick and pressing kisses to the back of his neck. “Bruce?”

"Mm?" 

"Do we have a party to go to?" 

Bruce nuzzles his head into Dick’s skin. “Not tonight.”


	4. Nanny

He likes to watch Dick take care of the kids, but he spends more of that time wishing he could kiss the nanny than not. It’s hard—he knows the boundaries and the stereotype of guys who end up cheating on their wives with the babysitter or the nanny, and even if he and Talia are going through an admittedly difficult divorce, he’s not going to compromise anything by pushing Dick against a wall and having his way with him. 

Even if that’s what he’d like to do.

Instead, he watches Dick try to help Tim with difficult math work and Damian with sewing the arm back onto his stuffed animal and Jason by just being there, while Alfred tries to help him by smacking him on the top of the head whenever he notices that Bruce has been staring too long and too hard at the man. 

That doesn’t mean that alone, Bruce doesn’t spend too long in the shower trying to get off on the the thought of Dick Grayson under him. He feels like a teenager who can’t control himself, and it’s miserable and on bad days he almost fires Dick for not realizing what he’s doing, but stops because there’s no way Dick can know.


	5. One They Did

It’s after the Night of Owls and Dick is laying in Bruce’s bed. He’s got stitches that are going to scar, but then, they both do, and Bruce doesn’t mind it all that much when he goes in to press a kiss to Dick’s jaw and exposed shoulder. “You’re wearing my sweater,” he grunts, trying to get comfortably next to him. Dick laughs and leans into Bruce’s shoulder. 

"It’s comfortable. And it smells like you." No, at this point, it smells like both of them, because Dick has been wearing it since Bruce disappeared with the Owls the first time. But Bruce doesn’t argue and reaches to turn off the lamp that sits on the bedside table.


End file.
